Rheumatic Heart Disease and Endomyocardial Fibrosis: A Complex Novel Case of Heart Failure.

Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) and endomyocardial fibrosis (EMF) are major causes of cardiac disease in low-income countries. We present a case of a patient with mitral stenosis and restrictive cardiomyopathy, initially attributed to severe RHD, but with disease progression despite valve replacement, likely secondary to previously undiagnosed EMF.

Abdominal Compared With Coronary Artery Calcification and Incident Cardiovascular Events and Mortality in Black Adults.

Background: Black adults show heightened cardiovascular risk compared with other groups despite comparable or lower coronary artery calcium (CAC) scores, indicating potential cardiovascular risk underestimation by CAC. Abdominal aortic calcification (AAC), preceding CAC, may predict cardiovascular events better in Black adults who are prone to early atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and excess events at low CAC scores.

Methods: We included 2551 participants from the JHS (Jackson Heart Study) visit 2 examination (2005-2008) without cardiovascular disease, followed through 2016.

Ubiquitous Order-Disorder Transition in the Mn Antisite Sublattice of the (MnBiTe)(BiTe) Magnetic Topological Insulators.

Magnetic topological insulators (TIs) herald a wealth of applications in spin-based technologies, relying on the novel quantum phenomena provided by their topological properties. Particularly promising is the (MnBiTe)(BiTe) layered family of established intrinsic magnetic TIs that can flexibly realize various magnetic orders and topological states. High tunability of this material platform is enabled by manganese-pnictogen intermixing, whose amounts and distribution patterns are controlled by synthetic conditions.

Magnetostriction-Driven Muon Localization in an Antiferromagnetic Oxide.

Magnetostriction results from the coupling between magnetic and elastic degrees of freedom. Though it is associated with a relatively small energy, we show that it plays an important role in determining the site of an implanted muon, so that the energetically favorable site can switch on crossing a magnetic phase transition. This surprising effect is demonstrated in the cubic rocksalt antiferromagnet MnO which undergoes a magnetostriction-driven rhombohedral distortion at the Néel temperature T_{N}=118  K.

Carotid Intima-Media Thickness and Improved Stroke Risk Assessment in Hypertensive Black Adults.

Background: We aim to determine the added value of carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) in stroke risk assessment for hypertensive Black adults.

Methods: We examined 1,647 participants with hypertension without a history of cardiovascular (CV) disease, from the Jackson Heart Study. Cox regression analysis estimated hazard ratios (HRs) for incident stroke per standard deviation increase in cIMT and quartiles while adjusting for baseline variables.